Govt’s liabilities jump 7.1% in April-June quarter

The government’s total liabilities rose by a steep 7.1 per cent, or Rs 6.73 lakh crore, in the April-June period to over Rs 101.35 lakh crore, against a 0.8 per cent increase in the previous quarter, a finance ministry report said on Friday, reflecting the enormous pressure Covid exerted on government finances. As of end-March, the total liabilities, which also include the liabilities under the ‘Public Account’, stood at Rs 94.62 lakh crore.

To tide over the deficit caused by a fall in revenue collection during the pandemic, the Centre issued dated securities aggregating to Rs 3,46,000 crore in the June quarter, much higher than the Rs 2,21,000 crore a year before, showed the Finance Ministry’s quarterly report on debt management. However, the weighted average yield of primary issuances showed a fall to 5.85 per cent in April-June, compared with 6.7 per cent in the March quarter.